thom-gillespie Reviews

Monkey Man (2024)

Interesting combination of John Wick and Batman's origin story.

[8/10 · 25 April 2024]

Interesting combination of John Wick and Batman's origin story with a bit of Jason Bourne thrown in.

Since everyone speaks perfect Queen's English it barely seemed 'Indian' and at time I was thinking Chinese, Iranian, Russian, and British. The flashbacks are to rural India and Hanuman which contextualized the movie far better than 'The Hotel' in John Wick. The vengeance had more rational than a dead dog.

They evidently ran out of funding at one point and did the filming with Go Pros and iPhones which gave the film a very intimate feel but did make some of the action scenes visually claustrophobic. Dev Patel doesn't quite make it as a superhero but as a string bean version of Jason Statham he worked. Loved the transexuals.

Well worth a viewing on the big screen more than once.

Black Snow (2022– )

Absolutely beautiful mystery

[9/10 · 7 January 2023]

Everything about Black Snow rings true: the dialog, the acting and the setting, which means if you are looking for Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan go elsewhere. But, if you start this series all you will want is more story and watching will quickly become binging to see what story is just over the hill or on the other side of the sugar cane field. This is a cold case drama set in Australia among native peoples which unfold in the present about the past. The screen loves all the actors but two stand out: Travis Fimmel, as Cormac, the very slow talking and walking cold case detective driven by other demons, and Talijah Blackman-Corowa as Izabel Baker, the victim. Talijah Blackman-Corowa as the young Izzy owns the eye of the camera with her acting skill and beauty.

If I compared this story to anything I'd compare it to the writings of Sally Rooney but with more things that go bang.

Highly recommended.

The Capture (2019– )

Maybe the most important fictional show to see since The Conversation

[10/10 · 17 September 2022]

Rarely has any show I have ever seen stunned me in the way The Capture has. The first season in 2019 was an eye opener, but this season has moved to jaw dropping. The final episode is the best final season episode I have ever.

Personally, I am addicted to all things AI, machine learning and deceptive from dark patterns to deep fakes. Eyewitness has become 'sure I bet!' We can no longer believe our own eyes because our eyes are fixated on screens of all sizes, all the time, everywhere to capture our attention for all sorts of purposes, not all of which we understand.

The Capture is so possible now I assumed. Shoshana Zuboff was the technical editor, which she wasn't

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

but she could have been. Where Zuboff's book is a text, The Capture has moved that text to filmic literature. The acting, dialog and depiction is perfect, and this show is Binge viewing at its best.

I reluctantly gave this show, and season two 10/10 but wished I could go higher.

This is great work, and important.

-Thom.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022)

I wanted to hate this reboot ...

[8/10 · 1 May 2022]

Since the original movie is one of my all time favorite movies. David Bowie in the lead made it spectacular but half way thru this first episode I was so engaged with the retelling and the acting that I could not look away. Engrossing is almost too weak a word for this retelling.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as the alien learnnig to human and pass is beyond delicious, he owns the screen and the camera.

Women Is Losers (2021)

Absolutely beautiful movie

[10/10 · 29 January 2022]

This movie is almost jaw dropping in its humanity of the human spirit. The characters, the acting, the dialog, the photography all perfect. Maybe the most effective parts of the movie are the Brechtian smashing of the 4th wall to reinforce points rather than a clumsy voice over. I did not plan to watch this movie but once the stories started rolling I could not take my eyes from the screen waiting to see how things turned out.

Arisaka (2021)

Excellent thriller ...

[8/10 · 3 January 2022]

I came in with no expectations other than it seemed to be a Philippine film which made my expectations low going in and anticipating a quick click off but Arisaka takes off from the git-go, tension build and then all hell breaks out. This is an exceptional film. Good dialog, strong acting and great film work.

Maja Salvador is one hell of an actor. Imagine a female Jack Reacher from Makati? Subtitled but with a combination Pigeon English and Tagalog I imagine, which meant I could easily read the scenes without the subtitles.

Absolutely loved Arisaka.

The New Mutants (2020)

Super Super Hero movie

[8/10 · 9 November 2020]

The New Mutants definitely follows in the vein of Black Panther, Ragnarok on Netflix and the 2nd Season of The Umbrella Academy, it has traces of Heroes, super heroes with more edge and definitely different more than the white bread backgrounds of Batman and Superman. The New Mutants foregrounds native American mythology and solving conflict thru peace and understanding visually contrasted with more than enough traditional comic book blast everything to pieces visual feast to keep all awake. There are enough gapping plot holes and missing backstory to easily be filled in with the next New Mutants sure to follow. Exceptionally engaging with the strong female roles and performances and guys of Xander & Giles quality in a Buffy World. I would have loved to see this as an 8-part video series on Netflix or Amazon than an in the theater experience. Highly recommended.

Unpregnant (2020)

Absolute 10 star movie ...

[10/10 · 11 September 2020]

Flipping all the cliches on their collective heads. Referencing everything from Thelma & Louise and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to Juno with great female leads. It starts out slow but like any road trip you have ever seen picks up speed with each passing mile.

Highly recommended and I think Jerry Falwell, Becki and their Poolboy would approve.

Becky (II) (2020)

I gave Becky 7 stars ...

[7/10 · 19 July 2020]

One of the worst movies I have ever seen with nerve jangling dialog, senseless acting and directing but with Lulu Wilson going full Hanna in the woods on the cardboard bad guys from start to finish but with zero training or preparation. Becky is so bad it is good and it is almost impossible to turn away from because every turn of event is coming like it or not and you definitely know what is coming next and you can not believe that they are going to do what you know they are going to do and you do not want them to do it. I did fast forward thru a few sections but it was more to get to the next 'I can't believe they are doing this' moment. Lulu Wilson is going to be a star. The kid has great screen presence and is worth the price of admission as long as it is not full fare.

Greed (I) (2019)

An absolutely spectacular fable of Capitalism

[10/10 · 17 May 2020]

I had no idea what to expect of Greed. Watching Greed is like being in a valley looking up at a mountain and noticing what looks like a small rock dislodging and starting to wander down the mountain side toward you. Smaller, bigger, faster and faster until it slams to a stop in your head with scenes impossible to unsee.

Greed is an orchestrated mess on a scale that would make Fellini proud and Orson Welles envious. Gorgeously cinematic, perfectly casted and fabulously plotted from multiple points of view.

i absolutely loved Greed.

Betty (2020–2021)

Really amazing show

[10/10 · 9 May 2020]

You can definitely see HBO is moving in a direction first started with Euphoia, which I thought was good but a bit of a stretch. Betty has more of a Lary Clark Kid's feel but without the we are going to hell in a hand basket ominous feel. There is no driving narrative and it is more Seinfeld slice-of-life with goofy characters on skateboards at the inner city park. It feels real, the actors look their ages and the dialog feels fresh. It is funny watching it during The Virus because it show what we all want to do: wander around with friends, bumping into friends, just goofing off and feeling alive.

The Operative (2019)

Better than The Spy on Netflix

[10/10 · 11 February 2020]

I reluctantly watched this because of the negative reviews. I thought I would scrub thru it quickly as a 'normal' spy flick but once Diane Kruger starts acting I was hooked. She is amazing and her interactions with Martin Freeman ring totally true. Kruger plays Rachel as a novice to the area basically coming alive the more she is enmeshed in the history, the intrigue and the deceit. It is an unusual portrayal of Iranian people, their culture and their normal lives and it is contrasted with the paranoid obsessive deceit of Mossad. It is like Netflix The Spy but it moves slower and has the definite feel of a le Carré novel. Things blow up and people die but nothing is filler.

Loved it!

Deadwater Fell (2020)

Only 1 episode in but this is a keeper

[8/10 · 19 January 2020]

It has a similar feel to The Outsider on HBO which is a Stephen King but this does not have the feel it will be rescued deus ex machina by something spooky and other worldly. Deepwater Fell is about real human interactions warts and all of people just trying to walk each other home to the best of their abilities. The writing and the acting flows naturally but not in a predictable fashion with slow back story reveals.

Low Low (2019)

A movie hard to stop watching

[8/10 · 11 September 2019]

Low Low is not a fast movie but it is in the vein of HBO's Euphoria but far realer and more honest. The characters and their motivations are clear and all action has purpose and part of me hoped Low Low would not ver into cliche in terms of drugs, sexuality and the future and it never did. Low Low delivered and left me wanting to see the future of each of the 4 characters.

Highly recommended.

The Rook (2019)

The Lawnmower Man revisited

[7/10 · 16 July 2019]

Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man was purchased for the title and the story was deep sixed. The Rook is similar to anyone how has read the book, which is magnificent. The book is totally Myfanwy's story and the TV show seems like they wanted the book title but not the book, which would have required the team from Stranger Things to do it justice and scare the pants off anyone watching which it would have. This is sort like watching MI-5 with some super powers thrown in. I can't say I dislike the show but knowing the book does get in the way. I will watch the TV show simply because it is not even close to the book other than the title so I just view it as a Procedural, but anyone watching the show good luck figuring out the 'Blonds' and no they are not the Children of the damned all grown up.

Watchable but the week by week drip does not help. This needs to be seen in one long weekend.

Liar (2017–2020)

Absolutely cringe worthy

[3/10 · 15 September 2017]

Great look but some of the most cringe worthy writing and clichés I have ever seen on screen. This looks like a Red Cross disaster film on what to never do and to whom you never should do it with. You can see the forks in the road before you even get to the road. As soon as the actions starts my mind goes: uh, oh, looks like someone has been watching Apple Tree Yard, which was a decent thriller with a twist ending you never see coming. I made it about 2/3 through the first episode and thought: not in the mood for a bad soap opera with rape.

The Guest Book (2017–2018)

This is My Name is Earl 2.0

[10/10 · 11 August 2017]

I watched the first episode and was not sold and didn't plan to watch anymore but stumbled on episode 3 and was totally blown away. This is basically Room 104 done right with an incredible sense of humor, good dialog, great acting and no laugh track.

Highly recommended.

Claws (2017–2022)

Claws is basically Orange is the New Black after parole

[8/10 · 11 August 2017]

The set up took about 3 episodes and then it launched. Dean was a bit annoying but he has developed into a far more interesting and believable character as an adult on the spectrum. 'The Girls' are all good with Dez the strongest but the real reason to watch is probably Roller a truly bizarre character, sort of Eminem if he did weights and steroids. Uncle Daddy is maybe the weakest character but this might be because I can't get the DEA character he played in Breaking Bad out of my mind. In my mind Uncle Daddy causes cognitive dissonance.

Very watchable.

Hunters (2016)

Mesmerizing combination of The Predator with Aliens with Spock

[8/10 · 29 April 2016]

I avoided Hunters for the 1st couple of episodes and then tried episode #3 and all I wanted was the back-story: who is Allison, how did she get here, what happened to her parents, who the hell is chasing her and why is she different from the difference, never mind the humans?.

So I started in on #2 and then to #1 and I was even more hooked. Hunters has a highly atmospheric, Dark City/Synchronicity look and feel. It is cinematically very dark to carry off the Predator thread. Hunters is well acted, good dialogue and not overly FXd.

I mentioned Predator, Aliens and Spock but it also resembles The Americans in its paranoia and the unease I feel while watching it. It definitely plays to the unease with 'the other' going on in US society, particularly with the trans-gendered issues of gender bending but more toward what will eventually happen when we are augmented by nanotechnology to the point of being 'aliens' in our own societies.

I think if you like The Aliens on E4 you will enjoy Hunters as well. I'm in.

--Thom

Under the Skin (I) (2013)

It is an interesting but confusing movie

[5/10 · 23 December 2015]

It has an extreme stylized look but at the end you leave wondering: what did I just watch? There has to be something more? So, I went and got the book Under the Skin by Michael Faber who is rightly compared to Kafka:

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Skin-Novel-Michel-Faber/dp/0156011603

and the book fills in all the movie holes and more. The book is wonderful and after reading the book you realize that the movie is like a neutered Vodsel ... if you have read the book you will understand what I mean.

That said I would encourage watching the film and then reading the book because if you change the order of consumption you will be ushered out of the theater by armed guards.

--Thom

Dread (2009)

Veneer, polish, shine but absolutely nothing beneath the surface

[1/10 · 22 December 2009]

Starting out with Goth, shadows, back-lit silhouettes, lots of them to the point I started to develop a head ache and all I wanted to do was find a way to up the contrast and add a little brightness just to the screen mind you; it was obvious from the start that there would be no brightness to the story or the tone. The goal was to frighten the crap out of the viewer but since the movie commits the Cardinal Sin of horror by showing the monster or the monstrosities very early on, there was absolutely no way to top the opening gore.

Think Saw, Hostel, typical torture porn made all the more torturous with freshman level 6 Buds and a Bong philosophizing about touching The Beast, Dread If you can't pirate this movie do not spend money on it.